Systems and methods for episode tracking in an interactive media environment

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for monitoring a user&#39;s viewing progress of media in a series are provided. The user may setup a media profile containing a list of program series to be monitored. The interactive media monitoring application may track the user&#39;s viewing progress of programs in the program series on the user equipment and update the user&#39;s media profile. The user may request and watch programs in the series at the user&#39;s leisure while peripheral media content may be filtered to be consistent with the user&#39;s viewing progress in the series.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to interactive media environments, and moreparticularly, to interactive media environments that monitor a user'sviewing progress.

Interactive media environments allow users to customize a user's mediaexperience using interactive media applications, such as interactivetelevision applications. For example, a user may direct an interactivemedia application to display program reminders, record media content,search for media content, and enforce parental controls. Interactivemedia applications, such as interactive television program guides, mayalso be configured to provide a host of other interactive features, suchas television program listings and summaries, pay-per-view (PPV)services, web browsing services, and other interactive features, to theuser.

An interactive feature that is becoming increasingly important ininteractive media environments is video-on-demand (VOD) services. UsingVOD services, a user may be presented with selected media contenton-request and at virtually any time specified by the user. VOD servicesare especially beneficial for users who are unable to view media contentwhen the content is broadcast or otherwise made available to the userequipment. In these instances, a user that subscribes to a VOD servicemay request the missed content to be delivered or presented at a latertime when the user is ready to view or receive the content.

Another important interactive feature available in some interactivemedia environments is digital video recording (DVR) services. Using DVRservices, a user may program an interactive media application toautomatically record a show (or series of shows) onto a storage mediumor recording device. DVR services, like VOD services, allow a user to bepresented with media content at times other than the times when themedia content was originally broadcast or made available to the userequipment.

Known interactive media environments, through the use of DVR, VOD, andother similar services, allow a user to become disconnected with therigid broadcast schedule of media content. Users may then watch themedia content at the user's own pace. Some of this media content may beepisodic content. Episodic content typically is self-contained withineach episode and does not include a common storyline with other episodesof the media content. For example, episodes of the series “Seinfeld” aretypically episodic. Viewers may watch one episode without watching allof the previous episodes in the series to understand the story. However,other media content may be serial in nature. Serial programming is anyprogramming containing a temporal component, such as a recommended orderof viewing. Serial programming may share themes and/or plot sequenceswith other episodes in the series. An example of serial programmingincludes episodes of the television series “24.” A user who watches anepisode of the television series “24” out of sequence may not recognizeor understand certain characters, themes, or plot elements that wereintroduced in previous, unwatched episodes. This often causes the viewerto be confused or lose interest in the media content. In order to fullycomprehend episodes of serial programming, other related programmingmust typically be watched prior to watching the serial programming.

Known interactive media environments do not track and report a user'sprogress through a series of related programming, such as a broadcasttelevision series or a set of movie sequels. Known interactive mediaenvironments also do not filter other media content (e.g., web, news,and advertising content) that may be presented on the user equipment sothat this other content is consistent with the user's media viewingprogress. For example, a user, who is watching a particular episode of acertain television series, may not wish to see spoilers or otherirrelevant media content related to unwatched shows in a series ofrelated programs.

In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide systems andmethods for monitoring a user's viewing progress of a user-selectedseries of related programs. It would also be desirable to use suchmonitoring techniques to provide a media environment that is consistentwith the user's viewing progress.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the principles of the present invention, systems andmethods for an interactive media monitoring application are provided.The interactive media monitoring application monitors a user's viewingprogress of user-selected series of programs or media.

The interactive media monitoring application may create and maintain auser media profile that tracks a user's viewing progress as the useradvances through a series of related programming or a collection ofmedia content. In some embodiments, the interactive media monitoringapplication may also access a set of replacement media content forsubstitution with media content about to be presented on the userequipment. If the media monitoring application determines that contentabout to be presented on the user equipment is inconsistent with theuser's media profile, the media monitoring application may remove orreplace the inconsistent media content.

In some embodiments, the interactive media monitoring application mayuse a dynamic filter to analyze incoming media content in real-time. Inthese environments, media content that the filter determines to beinconsistent with a user's viewing progress may be automatically removedor substituted with alternate content so as to be consistent with theuser's current viewing progress.

In some embodiments, the interactive media monitoring application maymaintain separate media profiles for each user accessing the userequipment. In these embodiments, each user's viewing progress may beindividually monitored. The media monitoring application may thenpresent a consistent media environment based on each user's individualmedia viewing progress. In some of these embodiments, a user's mediaprofile may be portable to any user equipment in the interactive mediasystem.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will beapparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencecharacters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an illustrative interactive media system inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of the illustrative user equipment of FIG. 1 basedon a set-top box arrangement in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an illustrative arrangement for the usertelevision equipment of FIG. 1 in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an illustrative user input device in accordancewith one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an illustrative arrangement for the user computerequipment of FIG. 1 in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a generalized diagram of the illustrative user equipment ofFIG. 1 in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 7A and 7B show illustrative user profile and media profile recordsin accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 8A and 8B show illustrative profiles flags associated with mediacontent in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a diagram of illustrative network resources accessible by theuser equipment of FIG. 1 in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 10 is an illustrative display of a log-in or authentication screenfor the interactive media monitoring application in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 11 is an illustrative display of a user welcome summary screen inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 12 is an illustrative display of a user media viewing progressscreen in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 13 is an illustrative display of a media monitoring applicationsetup screen in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 14 is an illustrative display of a user reminder screen inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 15 is an illustrative display of a filtered web content screen inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 16 is an illustrative display of an interactive program guidelisting screen in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 17 is an illustrative display of a user network communities screenin accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 18 is a flow chart of an illustrative process for accessing andinitializing the media monitoring application in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 19 is a flow chart of an illustrative process for filtering mediacontent in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 20 is a flow chart of an illustrative process for tracking mediaviewing progress and accessing network communities in accordance withone embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The amount of media available to users in any given media deliverysystem can be substantial. Consequently, many users desire a form ofmedia guidance, an interface that allows users to efficiently navigatemedia selections and easily identify media that they may desire. Anapplication which provides such guidance is referred to herein as aninteractive media guidance application or, sometimes, a guidanceapplication.

Interactive media guidance applications may take various forms dependingon the media for which they provide guidance. One typical type of mediaguidance application is an interactive television program guide.Interactive television program guides are well-known guidanceapplications that, among other things, allow users to navigate among andlocate television programming viewing choices and, in some systems,digital music. The television programming (and music programming) may beprovided via traditional broadcast, cable, satellite, the Internet, orother delivery schemes. The programming may be provided on asubscription basis (sometimes referred to as premium programming), aspay-per-view programs, or on-demand such as in video-on-demand (VOD)systems.

With the advent of the Internet, mobile computing, and high-speedwireless networks, users are able to access media on personal computers(PCs) and devices on which they traditionally could not.Non-television-centric platforms (i.e., platforms that distribute mediawith equipment not part of the user's broadcast, cable or satellitetelevision-delivery network) allow users to navigate among and locatedesirable video clips, full motion videos (which may include televisionprograms), images, music files, and other suitable media. Consequently,media guidance is also necessary on modern non-television-centricplatforms. For example, media guidance applications may be provided ason-line applications (i.e., provided on a web-site), or as stand-aloneapplications or clients on hand-held computers, personal digitalassistants (PDAs) or cellular telephones. In some systems, users maycontrol equipment remotely via a media guidance application. Forexample, users may access an online media guide and set recordings orother settings on their in home equipment. This may be accomplished bythe on-line guide controlling the user's equipment directly or viaanother media guide that runs on the user's equipment. Systems forremote recording of media content are described in more detail in Elliset al. U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 20030149988 and20050229213, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference hereinin their entireties.

An interactive media monitoring application may track a user's viewingprogress through a series of related programs, such as a broadcasttelevision series made available via a VOD or DVR service. Theinteractive media monitoring application may be a stand-aloneapplication or be integrated with an existing interactive media guidanceapplication, such as an interactive television program guide. Theinteractive media monitoring application may use guidance applicationdata, such as program schedule and content data, as well as other dataassociated with media content in the media delivery system to filtermedia content and other information (e.g., web or Internet data) so thatthis content and information is consistent with the user's viewingprogress.

An illustrative interactive media system 100 in accordance with thepresent invention is shown in FIG. 1. System 100 is intended toillustrate a number of approaches by which media of various types, andguidance for such media, may be provided to (and accessed by) end-users.The present invention, however, may be applied in systems employing anyone or a subset of these approaches, or in systems employing otherapproaches for delivering media and providing media guidance.

The first approach represents a typical television-centric system inwhich users may access television (and in some systems music)programming. This includes programming sources 102 and distributionfacility 104. Media such as television programming and digital music isprovided from programming sources 102 to distribution facility 104,using communications path 106. Communications path 106 may be asatellite path, a fiber-optic path, a cable path, or any other suitablewired or wireless communications path or combination of such paths.

Programming sources 102 may be any suitable sources of television andmusic programming, such as television broadcasters (e.g., NBC, ABC, andHBO) or other television or music production studios. Programmingsources 102 may provide television programming in a variety of formatsin high definition and standard definition, such as, for example, 1080p,1080i, 720p, 480p, 480i, and any other suitable format.

Distribution facility 104 may be a cable system headend, a satellitetelevision distribution facility, a television broadcaster, or any othersuitable facility for distributing video media (e.g., televisionprograms, video-on-demand programs, pay-per-view programs) and audiomedia (e.g., music programming and music clips) to the equipment ofusers. In some approaches, distribution facility 104 may also distributeother media to users, such as video and audio clips, web pages, andinteractive applications, that may be offered to subscribers of a givencable or satellite system. There are typically numerous televisiondistribution facilities 104 in system 100, but only one is shown in FIG.1 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.

Distribution facility 104 may be connected to various user equipmentdevices 108, 110, and 112. Such user equipment devices may be located,for example, in the homes of users. User equipment devices may includeuser television equipment 110, user computer equipment 112, or any othertype of user equipment suitable for accessing media. User equipment 108may be any type of user equipment (e.g., user television equipment, usercomputer equipment, etc.) and, for simplicity, user equipment devicesmay be referred to generally as user equipment 108.

User equipment devices 108, 110, and 112 may receive media (such astelevision, music, web pages, etc.) and other data from distributionfacility 104 over communications paths, such as communications paths114, 116, and 118, respectively. User equipment devices 108, 110, 112may also transmit signals to distribution facility 104 over paths 114,116, and 118, respectively. Paths 114, 116, and 118 may be cables orother wired connections, free-space connections (e.g., for broadcast orother wireless signals), satellite links, or any other suitable link orcombination of links.

A second approach illustrated in FIG. 1 by which media and mediaguidance are provided to end users is a non-television-centric approach.In this approach media such as video (which may include televisionprogramming), audio, images, web pages, or a suitable combinationthereof, are provided to equipment of a plurality of users (e.g., userequipment 108, user television equipment 110, and user computerequipment 112) by server 130 via communications network 126. Thisapproach is non-television-centric because media is provided by anddelivered at least partially, and sometimes exclusively, via equipmentthat is not part of users' traditional broadcast, cable or satellitetelevision delivery systems. In non-television-centric approaches,television programming may be only one type of media that is provided(if at all).

In some embodiments for this approach, communications network 126 is theInternet. Server 130 may provide for example, a web site that isaccessible to the user's equipment and provides an on-line guidanceapplication for the user. In such approaches, the user's equipment maybe, for example, a PC or a hand-held device such as a PDA or web-enabledcellular telephone that incorporates a web browser. In otherembodiments, server 130 uses the Internet as a transmission medium butdoes not use the Web. In such approaches, the user's equipment may run aclient application that enables the user to access media. In still otherapproaches, communications network 126 is a private communicationsnetwork, such as a cellular phone network, that does not include theInternet.

In yet other approaches, communications network 126 includes a privatecommunications network and the Internet. For example, a cellulartelephone or other mobile-device service provider may provide Internetaccess to its subscribers via a private communications network, or mayprovide media such as video clips or television programs to itssubscribers via the Internet and its own network.

The aforementioned approaches for providing media may, in someembodiments, be combined. For example, a distribution facility 104 mayprovide a television-centric media delivery system, while also providingusers' equipment (e.g., 108, 110 and 112) with access to othernon-television-centric delivery systems provided by server 130. Forexample, a user's equipment may include a web-enabled set-top box or atelevision enabled PC. Distribution facility 104 may, in addition totelevision and music programming, provide the user with Internet accesswhereby the user may access server 130 via communications network 126.Distribution facility 104 may communicate with communications network126 over any suitable path 134, such as a wired path, a cable path,fiber-optic path, satellite path, or combination of such paths.

Media guidance and monitoring applications may be provided using anyapproach suitable for the type of media and distribution system forwhich the applications are used. Media guidance and monitoringapplications may be, for example, stand alone applications implementedon users' equipment. In other embodiments, media guidance and monitoringapplications may be client-server applications where only the clientresides on the users' equipment. In still other embodiments, guidanceand monitoring applications may be provided as web sites accessed by abrowser implemented on the users' equipment. Whatever the chosenimplementation, the media guidance and/or media monitoring applicationwill require information about the media for which it is providingguidance or monitoring. For example, titles or names of media, briefdescriptions, schedule information, or other information may benecessary to allow users to navigate among, find, and track the viewingprogress of desired media selections.

In some television-centric embodiments, for example, the guidanceapplication may be a stand-alone interactive television program guidethat receives program guide data via a data feed (e.g., a continuousfeed, trickle feed, or data in the vertical blanking interval of achannel). Data source 120 in system 100 may include a program listingsdatabase that is used to provide the user with televisionprogram-related information such as scheduled broadcast times, titles,channels, ratings information (e.g., parental ratings and critic'sratings), detailed title descriptions, genre or category information(e.g., sports, news, movies, etc.), program format (e.g., standarddefinition, high definition) and information on actors and actresses.Data source 120 may also contain media content attribute flags and otherdata associated with programs, such as program number, episode number,and season information for programs that are part of program series.Data source 120 may also be used to provide advertisements (e.g.,program guide advertisements and advertisements for other interactivetelevision applications), real-time data such as sports scores, stockquotes, news data, and weather data, application data for one or moremedia guidance applications or other interactive applications, and anyother suitable data for use by system 100. As another example, datasource 120 may provide data indicating the types of information that maybe included in interactive media guidance overlays (e.g., at the requestof the user, absent user modification, etc.).

Program guide data may be provided to user equipment, including userequipment located on home network 113, using any suitable approach. Forexample, the data may be transmitted to the user equipment as abroadcast, multicast, unicast, or any other suitable transmissionstream. Program schedule data and other data may be provided to the userequipment on a television channel sideband, in the vertical blankinginterval of a television channel, using an in-band digital signal, usingan out-of-band digital signal, or by any other suitable datatransmission technique. Program schedule data and other data may beprovided to user equipment on multiple analog or digital televisionchannels. Program schedule data and other data may be provided to theuser equipment with any suitable frequency (e.g., continuously, daily,in response to a request from user equipment, etc.).

In some television-centric embodiments, guidance data from data source120 may be provided to users' equipment using a client-server approach.For example, a guidance application client residing on the user'sequipment may initiate sessions with server 140 to obtain guidance datawhen needed.

There may be multiple data sources (such as data source 120) in system100, although only one data source is shown in FIG. 1 to avoidovercomplicating the drawing. For example, a separate data source may beassociated with each of a plurality of television broadcasters and mayprovide data that is specific to those broadcasters (e.g.,advertisements for future programming of the broadcasters, logo data fordisplaying broadcasters' logos in program guide display screens, etc.).Data source 120 and any other system components of FIG. 1 may beprovided using equipment at one or more locations. Systems componentsare drawn as single boxes in FIG. 1 to avoid overcomplicating thedrawings.

Data source 120 may provide data to distribution facility 104 overcommunications path 122 for distribution to the associated userequipment and home network 113 (discussed below) over paths 114, 116,118, and 119 (e.g., when data source 120 is located at a main facility).Communications path 122 may be any suitable communications path such asa satellite communications path or other wireless path, a fiber-optic orother wired communications path, a path that supports Internetcommunications, or other suitable path or combination of such paths.

In some television-centric and non-television centric approaches, datasource 120 may provide guidance data directly to user equipment 108 overpath 124, communications network 126, and path 128 (e.g., when datasource 120 is located at a facility such as one of programming sources102). In some embodiments of the present invention, data source 120 mayprovide guidance data directly to user equipment located on home network113 (discussed below) over path 124, communications network 126, andpath 139 (e.g., when data source 120 is located at a facility such asone of programming sources 102). Paths 124, 128, and 139 may be wiredpaths such as telephone lines, cable paths, fiber-optic paths, satellitepaths, wireless paths, any other suitable paths or a combination of suchpaths. Communications network 126 may be any suitable communicationsnetwork, such as the Internet, the public switched telephone network, ora packet-based network.

User equipment devices, including user equipment devices located on homenetwork 113 (discussed below), such as user television equipment andpersonal computers, may use the program schedule data and otherinteractive media guidance application data to display program listingsand other information (e.g., information on digital music) for the user.An interactive television program guide application or other suitableinteractive media guidance application may be used to display theinformation on the user's display (e.g., in one or more overlays thatare displayed on top of video for a given television channel).Interactive displays may be generated and displayed for the user usingany suitable approach. In one suitable approach, distribution facility104, server 130, or another facility, may generate application displayscreens and may transmit the display screens to user equipment fordisplay. In another suitable approach, user equipment may store data foruse in one or more interactive displays (e.g., program schedule data,advertisements, logos, etc.), and an interactive media guidanceapplication implemented at least partially on the user equipment maygenerate the interactive displays based on instructions received fromdistribution facility 104, server 130 or another facility. In someembodiments of the present invention, user equipment may store only thedata that is used to generate the interactive television displays (e.g.,storing logo data for a particular television broadcaster only if thelogo is to be included in one or more interactive television displays).In some embodiments of the present invention, user equipment may storedata that is not necessarily used to generate the interactive televisiondisplays (e.g., storing advertisements associated with a particulartelevision broadcaster that may or may not be displayed depending on,for example, the outcome of negotiations with the televisionbroadcaster). Any other suitable approach or combination of approachesmay be used to generate and display interactive overlays for the user.

In still other embodiments, interactive media guidance applications(television-centric and non-television centric) may be provided onlineas, for example, websites. For example, server 130 may provide an onlineinteractive television program guide. As another example, user equipment108 may be a mobile device, such as a cellular telephone or personaldigital assistant (PDA). The mobile device may be web-enabled to allowthe user to access an on-line guidance application (which may bemodified from its original version to make it appropriate for a cellularphone). Alternatively, the mobile device may have an applet thatcommunicates with server 130 to obtain guidance data via the Internet.

Server 130 may receive program schedule data and other data from datasource 120 via communications path 124, communications network 126, andcommunications path 132 or via another suitable path or combination ofpaths. Path 132 may be a satellite path, fiber-optic path, wired path,or any other path or combination of paths. User equipment 108 may accessthe on-line interactive media guidance application and other sourcesfrom server 130 via communications path 128. User equipment 108 may alsoaccess the application and other services on server 130 viacommunications path 114, distribution facility 104, and communicationspath 134. For example, a cable modem or other suitable equipment may beused by user equipment 108 to communicate with distribution facility104.

User equipment such as user television equipment 110, user computerequipment 112, and user equipment located on home network 113 may accessthe on-line interactive media guidance application and server 130 usingsimilar arrangements. User television equipment 110 may access theon-line interactive media guidance application and server 130 usingcommunications path 136 or using path 116, distribution facility 104,and path 134. User computer equipment 112 may access the on-lineinteractive media guidance application and server 130 usingcommunications path 138 or using path 118, distribution facility 104,and path 134. User equipment located on home network 113 may access theon-line media guidance application and server 130 using communicationspath 139 or using path 119, distribution facility 104, and path 134.Paths 136, 138, and 139 may be any suitable paths such as wired paths,cable paths, fiber-optic paths, wireless paths, satellite paths, or acombination of such paths.

An interactive media monitoring application implemented at leastpartially on user equipment 108, user television equipment 110, usercomputer equipment 112, distribution facility 104, or another device ofmedia system 100 may use program schedule data and other interactivemedia application data to monitor a user's viewing progress of mediacontent on the user equipment. The user's viewing progress may betracked and recorded in user media profiles, which may be stored locallyon the user equipment or on a network device (e.g., server 130 and/orserver 140) within media system 100. The media monitoring applicationmay also filter media content and other information (e.g., web orInternet data) that is inconsistent with the user's viewing progress.For example, a spoiler advertisement relating to an unwatched programmay be replaced with an advertisement relating to an already watchedprogram. For the sake of simplicity, media content that is inconsistentwith a user's media profile (and hence the user's viewing progress) willbe referred to herein as inconsistent media content. This content mayinclude advertising, news segment, web content, or any other mediacontent available in media system 100.

In some embodiments, system 100 may support other interactiveapplications in addition to the interactive media guidance and mediamonitoring applications. Such applications may be implemented using anysuitable approach. For example, the interactive applications may beimplemented locally on the user equipment or in a distributed fashion(e.g., using a client-server architecture in which the user equipmentserves at least partly, and for at least some of the time, as the clientand a server, such as server 140 at distribution facility 104, server130, or other suitable equipment acts as the server). Other distributedarchitectures may also be used if desired. Moreover, some or all of thefeatures of the interactive applications of system 100 (including themedia guidance application and media monitoring application) may beprovided using operating system software or middleware software. Suchoperating system software and middleware may be used instead of or incombination with application-level software. In yet other approaches,interactive applications may also be supported by servers or othersuitable equipment at one or more service providers such as serviceprovider 142. Regardless of the particular arrangement used, thesoftware that supports these features may be referred to as anapplication or applications.

For example, an interactive application such as a home shopping servicemay be supported by a service provider such as service provider 142 thathas sales representatives, order fulfillment facilities, accountmaintenance facilities, and other equipment for supporting interactivehome shopping features. A home shopping application that is implementedusing the user equipment may be used to access the service provider toprovide such features to the user. The user equipment may access serviceprovider 142 via distribution facility 104 and communications path 144or via communications network 126 and communications path 146.Communications paths such as paths 144 and 146 may be any suitable pathssuch as wired paths, cable paths, fiber-optic paths, satellite paths, ora combination of such paths.

Another example of an interactive application is a home bankingapplication. A home banking service may be supported using personnel atfacilities such as service provider 142. An interactive home bankingapplication that is implemented using the user equipment may access thehome banking service via distribution facility 104 and communicationspath 144 or via communications network 126 and communications path 146.

If desired, an interactive media guidance application such as anetwork-based video recorder or a video-on-demand application may besupported using server 140, server 130, or equipment at service provider142. Video-on-demand content and video recorded using a network-basedvideo recorder arrangement may be stored on server 140 or server 130 orat service provider 142 and may be provided to the user equipment whenrequested by users. An interactive television program guide, forexample, may be used to support the functions of a personal videorecorder (sometimes called a digital video recorder) that is implementedusing user equipment 108. Illustrative equipment that may be used tosupport personal video recorder functions include specialized personalvideo recorder devices, integrated receiver decoders (IRDs), set-topboxes with integrated or external hard drives, or personal computerswith video recording capabilities.

Interactive applications such as media guidance applications (e.g.,interactive television program guide applications and video-on-demandapplications), home shopping applications, home banking applications,game applications, and other applications (e.g., applications related toe-mail and chat or other communications functions, etc.) may be providedas separate applications that are accessed through a navigation shellapplication (i.e., a menu application with menu options corresponding tothe applications). The features of such applications may be combined.For example, games, video-on-demand services, home shopping services,network-based video recorder functions, personal video recorderfunctions, navigational functions, program guide functions,communications functions, and other suitable functions may be providedusing one application or any other suitable number of applications. Theone or more applications may display various overlays on user equipmentincluding, for example, interactive television information on top ofvideo for a given television channel.

Interactive television program guide applications, home bankingapplications, home shopping applications, network-based video recorderand personal video recorder applications, video-on-demand applications,gaming applications, communications applications, and navigationalapplications are only a few illustrative examples of the types ofinteractive media guidance and other applications that may be supportedby system 100. Other suitable interactive applications that may besupported include news services, web browsing and other Internetservices, and interactive wagering services (e.g., for wagering on horseraces, sporting events, and the like). Interactive television overlaysthat are displayed by these applications may also be customized inaccordance with the present invention.

Users may have multiple types of user equipment by which they accessmedia and obtain media guidance. For example, some users may have homenetworks that are accessed by in-home and mobile devices. As shown inFIG. 1, home network 113 communicates with distribution facility 104 andserver 130 over paths 119 and 139 (and, in the case of server 130,communications network 126). Such home networks 113 may be located, forexample, in homes of users or distributed, for example, among homes ofusers. Home networks 113 may each include a plurality of interconnecteduser equipment devices, such as, for example user equipment devices 108,110 and 112. In some embodiments, users may control in-home devices viaa media guidance application implemented on a remote device. Forexample, users may access an online media guidance application on awebsite via a personal computer at their office, or a mobile device suchas a PDA or web-enabled cellular telephone. The user may set settings(e.g., recordings, reminders, or other settings) on the on-line guidanceapplication to control the user's in-home equipment. The on-line guidemay control the user's equipment directly, or by communicating with amedia guidance application on the user's in-home equipment.

FIGS. 2-6 show illustrative arrangements for user equipment. Anillustrative set-top box-based arrangement for user equipment 110 isshown in FIG. 2. User television equipment 110 may be stand-alone or apart of home network 113 (FIG. 1). Input/output 202 may be connected tocommunications paths such as paths 116 and 136 (FIG. 1). Input/outputfunctions may be provided by one or more wires or communications paths,but are shown as a single path in FIG. 2 to avoid overcomplicating thedrawing. Television programming, program guide data, and any othersuitable interactive media guidance application data or other data maybe received using input/output 202. Commands and requests and other datagenerated as a result of user interactions with the interactive mediaguidance application may also be transmitted over input/output 202.

Set-top box 204 may be any suitable analog or digital set-top box (e.g.,a cable set-top box). Set-top box 204 may contain an analog tuner fortuning to a desired analog television channel (e.g., a channelcomprising television programming, interactive television data, orboth). Set-top box 204 may also contain digital decoding circuitry forreceiving digital television channels (e.g., channels comprisingtelevision or music programming, interactive television data, etc.).Set-top box 204 may also contain a high-definition television tuner forreceiving and processing high-definition television channels. Analog,digital, and high-definition channels may be handled together ifdesired. Multiple tuners may be provided (e.g., to handle simultaneouswatch and record functions or picture-in-picture (PIP) functions). Box204 may be an integrated receiver decoder (IRD) that handles satellitetelevision. If desired, box 204 may have circuitry for handling cable,over-the-air broadcast, and satellite content.

Set-top box 204 may be configured to output media, such as televisionprograms, in a preferred format. Because television programs may bereceived in a variety of formats, set-top box 204 may contain scalercircuitry for upconverting and downconverting television programs intothe preferred output format used by set-top box 204. For example,set-top box 204 may be configured to output television programs in 720p.In this example, the scaler circuitry may upconvert standard-definitiontelevision programs having 480 lines of vertical resolution to 720pformat and downconvert certain high-definition television programshaving 1080 lines of vertical resolution to 720p format.

Box 204 may include a storage device (e.g., a digital storage devicesuch as a hard disk drive) for providing recording capabilities. Box 204may also be connected to a recording device 206 such as a video cassetterecorder, personal video recorder, optical disc recorder, or otherdevice or devices with storage capabilities. In some embodiments, box204 may be configured to record either standard-definition televisionprograms or high-definition television programs. In some embodiments,box 204 may be configured to record both standard-definition televisionprograms and high-definition television programs.

Set-top box 204 contains a processor (e.g., a microcontroller ormicroprocessor or the like) that is used to execute softwareapplications. Set-top box 204 may contain memory such as random-accessmemory for use when executing applications. Nonvolatile memory may alsobe used (e.g., to launch a boot-up routine and other instructions). Harddisk storage in box 204 or in recording device 206 may be used to backup data and to otherwise support larger databases and storagerequirements than may be supported using random-access memoryapproaches. Hard disk storage in box 204 or in recording device 206 mayalso be used to store and back up program guide settings or saved userpreferences.

Set-top box 204 may have infrared (IR) or other communications circuitryfor communicating with a remote control or wireless keyboard. Set-topbox 204 may also have dedicated buttons and a front-panel display. Thefront-panel display may, for example, be used to display the currentchannel to which the set-top box is tuned.

Set-top box 204 may also have communications circuitry such as a cablemodem, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) modem, a digitalsubscriber line (DSL) modem, a telephone modem, or a wireless modem forcommunications with other equipment. Such communications may involve theInternet or any other suitable communications networks or paths. Ifdesired, the components of set-top box 204 may be integrated into otheruser equipment (e.g., a television or videocassette recorder).

Recording device 206 may be used to record videos provided by set-topbox 204. For example, if set-top box 204 is tuned to a given televisionchannel, the video signal for that television channel may be passed torecording device 206 for recording on a videocassette, compact disc,digital video disk, or internal hard drive or other storage device. Insome embodiments, recording device 206 may be configured to recordeither standard-definition television programs or high-definitiontelevision programs. In some embodiments, recording device 206 may beconfigured to record both standard-definition television programs andhigh-definition television programs. Recording device 206 may havecommunications circuitry such as a cable modem, an ISDN modem, a DSLmodem, or a telephone modem for communications with other equipment.Such communications may involve the Internet or any other suitablecommunications networks or paths. The components of recording device 206may be integrated into other user equipment (e.g., a television, stereoequipment, etc.).

Recording device 206 may be controlled using a remote control or othersuitable user interface. If desired, video recorder functions such asstart, stop, record and other functions for device 206 may be controlledby set-top box 204. For example, set-top box 204 may control recordingdevice 206 using infrared commands directed toward the remote controlinputs of recording device 206 or set-top box 204 may control recordingdevice 206 using other wired or wireless communications paths betweenbox 204 and device 206.

The output of recording device 206 may be provided to television 208 fordisplay to the user. In some embodiments, television 208 may be capableof displaying high-definition programming (i.e., HDTV-capable). Ifdesired, multiple recording devices 206 or no recording device 206 maybe used. If recording device 206 is not present or is not being activelyused, the video signals from set-top box 204 may be provided directly totelevision 208. Any suitable television or monitor may be used todisplay the video. For example, if the video is in a high-definitionformat, an HDTV-capable television or monitor is required to display thevideo. In the equipment of FIG. 2 and the other equipment of system 100(FIG. 1), the audio associated with various video items is typicallydistributed with those video items and is generally played back to theuser as the videos are played. In some embodiments, the audio may bedistributed to a receiver (not shown), which processes and outputs theaudio via external speakers (not shown).

Another illustrative arrangement for user television equipment 110(FIG. 1) is shown in FIG. 3. User television equipment 110 may bestand-alone or a part of home network 113 (FIG. 1). In the example ofFIG. 3, user television equipment 110 includes a recording device 302such as a digital video recorder (e.g., a personal video recorder (PVR))that uses a hard disk or other storage for recording video. Recordingdevice 302 may alternatively be a digital video disc recorder, compactdisc recorder, videocassette recorder, or other suitable recordingdevice. Equipment 110 of FIG. 3 may also include a television 304. Insome embodiments, television 304 may be HDTV-capable. Input/output 306may be connected to communications paths such as paths 116 and 136 (FIG.1). Television programming, program schedule data, and other data (e.g.,advertisement data, data indicating one or more television channels forwhich the display of an overlay is to be customized, etc.) may bereceived using input/output 306. Commands and requests and other datafrom the user may be transmitted over input/output 306.

Recording device 302 may contain at least one analog tuner for tuning toa desired analog television channel (e.g., to display video for a giventelevision channel to a user, to receive program guide data and otherdata) and multiple other tuners may also be provided. Recording device302 may also contain digital decoding circuitry for receiving digitaltelevision programming, music programming, program guide data, and otherdata on one or more digital channels. Recording device 302 may alsocontain circuitry for receiving high-definition television channels. Ifdesired, recording device 302 may contain circuitry for handling analog,digital, and high-definition channels. Recording device 302 alsocontains a processor (e.g., a microcontroller or microprocessor or thelike) that is used to execute software applications. Recording device302 may contain memory such as random-access memory for use whenexecuting applications. Nonvolatile memory may also be used to store aboot-up routine or other instructions. The hard disk and other storagein recording device 302 may be used to support databases (e.g., programguide databases or other interactive television application databases).The hard disk or other storage in recording device 302 may also be usedto record video such as television programs or video-on-demand contentor other content provided to recording device 302 over input/output 306.

Recording device 302 may have IR communications circuitry or othersuitable communications circuitry for communicating with a remotecontrol. Recording device 302 may also have dedicated buttons and afront-panel display. The front-panel display may, for example, be usedto display the current channel to which the recording device is tuned.

Recording device 302 may also have communications circuitry such as acable modem, an ISDN modem, a DSL modem, a telephone modem, or awireless modem for communications with other equipment. Suchcommunications may involve the Internet or other suitable communicationsnetworks or paths.

If desired, recording device 302 may include a satellite receiver orother equipment that has wireless communications circuitry for receivingsatellite signals.

Recording device 302 of FIG. 3 or recording device 206 of FIG. 2 mayrecord new video while previously recorded video is being played back ontelevision 304 or 208. This allows users to press a pause button duringnormal television viewing. When the pause button is pressed, the currenttelevision program is stored on the hard disk of digital video recorder302. When the user presses play, the recorded video may be played back.This arrangement allows the user to seamlessly pause and resumetelevision viewing. Recording devices 302 and 206 may also be used toallow a user to watch a previously-recorded program while simultaneouslyrecording a new program.

The set-top box arrangement of FIG. 2 and the personal video recorderwith a built-in set-top box arrangement of FIG. 3 are merelyillustrative. Other arrangements may be used if desired. For example,user television equipment may be based on a WebTV box, a personalcomputer television (PC/TV), or any other suitable television equipmentarrangement. If desired, the functions of components such as set-top box204, recording device 302, a WebTV box, or PC/TV or the like may beintegrated into a television or personal computer or other suitabledevice.

An illustrative remote control 400 for operating user televisionequipment 110 (FIG. 1) or suitable user computer equipment 112 is shownin FIG. 4. Remote control 400 is only illustrative and any othersuitable user input interface may be used to operate user equipment(e.g., a mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard, touch screen, voicerecognition system, etc.). Remote control 400 may have function keys 402and other keys 404 such as keypad keys, power on/off keys, pause, stop,fast-forward and reverse keys. Volume up and down keys 406 may be usedfor adjusting the volume of the audio portion of a video. Channel up anddown keys 408 may be used to change television channels and to accesscontent on virtual channels. Cursor keys 410 may be used to navigateon-screen menus. For example, cursor keys 410 may be used to position anon-screen cursor, indicator, or highlight (sometimes all genericallyreferred to herein as a highlight or highlight region) to indicateinterest in a particular option or other item on a display screen thatis displayed by the interactive television application.

OK key 412 (sometimes called a select or enter key) may be used toselect on-screen options that the user has highlighted.

Keys 402 may include RECORD key 414 for initiating recordings. MENUbutton 416 may be used to direct an interactive media guidanceapplication to display a menu on the user's display screen (e.g., ontelevision 208 or 304 or on a suitable monitor or computer display).INFO button 418 may be used to direct an interactive media guidanceapplication to display an information display screen. For example, whena user presses INFO key 418 while video for a given television channelis displayed for the user, an interactive television program guide maydisplay a FLIP/BROWSE overlay including program schedule information forthe current program on the given television channel on top of the video.As another example, when a particular program listing in an interactivetelevision program listings display screen is highlighted, the userpressing INFO button 418 may cause an interactive television programguide to provide additional program information associated with thatprogram listing (e.g., a program description, actor information,schedule information, etc.).

PROFILES button 420 may be used to quickly access the current user'smedia profile or viewing progress display screen 1200 of FIG. 12(described below). In some embodiments, PROFILES button 420 may be usedto access a list of all media profiles stored on the user equipment. Inother embodiments, PROFILES button 420 may access the interactive mediamonitoring application setup, log-in, or configuration display screens.

EXIT button 422 may be used to exit the interactive media guidanceapplication or to exit a portion of the interactive media guidanceapplication (e.g., to cause an interactive television program guide toremove a FLIP, BROWSE, or other interactive television overlay from thedisplay screen). GUIDE button 424 may be used to invoke an interactivetelevision program guide (e.g., a program guide menu screen, programlistings screen, or other program guide screen).

The keys shown in FIG. 4 are merely illustrative. Other keys or buttonsmay be provided if desired. For example, a music button may be used toaccess music with the interactive media guidance application. An editbutton may be used to edit stored content (e.g., to remove commercials,remove portions of a video, etc.). Alphanumeric buttons may be used toenter alphanumeric characters. A last or back button may be used tobrowse backward in the interactive media guidance application (e.g., toreturn to a previous channel, web page, or other display screen). Videorecorder function buttons such as a play button, pause button, stopbutton, rewind button, fast-forward button, and record button, may beused to control video recorder functions (local or network-based) insystem 100 (FIG. 1). A help key may be used to invoke help functionssuch as context-sensitive on-screen help functions.

Illustrative user computer equipment 112 (FIG. 1) is shown in FIG. 5.User computer equipment 112 may be stand-alone or a part of home network113 (FIG. 1). In the arrangement of FIG. 5, personal computer unit 502may be controlled by the user using keyboard 504 and/or other suitableuser input device such as a trackball, mouse, touch pad, touch screen,voice recognition system, or a remote control, such as remote control400 of FIG. 4. Video content, such as television programming or webpages having video elements, and interactive media guidance applicationdisplay screens may be displayed on monitor 506. Television and musicprogramming, media guidance application data (e.g., television programguide data), video-on-demand content, video recordings played back froma network-based video recorder, and other data may be received frompaths 118 and 138 (FIG. 1) using input/output 508. User commands andother information generated as a result of user interactions with theinteractive media guidance application and system 100 (FIG. 1) may alsobe transmitted over input/output 508.

Personal computer unit 502 may contain a television or video card, suchas a television tuner card, for decoding analog, digital, andhigh-definition television channels and for handling streaming videocontent. Multiple video cards (e.g., tuner cards) may be provided ifdesired. An illustrative television tuner card that may be used maycontain an analog television tuner for tuning to a given analog channel,digital decoding circuitry for filtering out a desired digitaltelevision or music channel from a packetized digital data stream, and ahigh-definition television tuner for tuning to a high-definitionchannel. Any suitable card or components in computer unit 502 may beused to handle video and other content delivered via input/output line508 if desired.

Personal computer unit 502 may contain one or more processors (e.g.,microprocessors) that are used to run the interactive media guidanceapplication or a portion of the interactive media guidance application.

Personal computer unit 502 may include a hard drive, a recordable DVDdrive, a recordable CD drive, or other suitable storage device ordevices that stores video, program guide data, and other content. Theinteractive media guidance application and personal computer unit 502may use a storage device or devices to, for example, provide thefunctions of a personal video recorder.

User equipment, such as user equipment 108, user television equipment110, user computer equipment 112, and user equipment located on homenetwork 113 (FIG. 1), may be used with network equipment such as server130, server 140, and equipment at service providers such as serviceprovider 142 of FIG. 1 to provide network-based video recordingfunctions. Video recording functions may be provided by storing copiesof television programs and other video content on a remote server (e.g.,server 130 or server 140) or other network-based equipment, such asequipment at a service provider such as service provider 142.

Video recordings may be made in response to user commands that areentered at user equipment 108 or user equipment located on home network113 (FIG. 1). In a personal video recorder arrangement, the interactivemedia guidance application may be used to record video locally on theuser equipment in response to the user commands. In a network-basedvideo recorder arrangement, the interactive media guidance applicationmay be used to record video or to make virtual recordings (describedbelow) on network equipment such as server 130, server 140, or equipmentat service provider 142 in response to the user commands. The usercommands may be provided to the network equipment over thecommunications paths shown in FIG. 1. The personal video recorderarrangement and the network-based video recorder arrangement can supportfunctions such as fast-forward, rewind, pause, play, and record.

To avoid unnecessary duplication in a network-based video recorderenvironment, system 100 may provide network-based video recordingcapabilities by using virtual copies or recordings. With this approach,each user may be provided with a personal area on the network thatcontains a list of that user's recordings. The video content need onlybe stored once (or a relatively small number of times) on the networkequipment, even though a large number of users may have that videocontent listed as one of their recordings in their network-based videorecorder personal area. Personal settings or any other suitable data maybe stored in a user's personal area on the network.

The user television equipment and user computer equipment arrangementsdescribed above are merely illustrative. A more generalized embodimentof illustrative user equipment 108, 110, and 112 (FIG. 1) and userequipment located on home network 113 (FIG. 1) is shown in FIG. 6.Control circuitry 602 is connected to input/output 604. Input/output 604may be connected to one or more communications paths such as paths 114,116, 118, 128, 136, and 138 of FIG. 1. Media (e.g., televisionprogramming, music programming, other video and audio, and web pages)may be received via input/output 604 (e.g., from programming sources102, servers or other equipment, such as server 130, service providerssuch as service provider 142, distribution facility 104, etc.).Interactive media guidance application data, such as program scheduleinformation for an interactive television program guide, may be receivedfrom data source 120 via input/output 604. Input/output 604 may also beused to receive data from data source 120 for other interactivetelevision applications. The user may use control circuitry 602 to sendand receive commands, requests, and other suitable data usinginput/output 604.

Control circuitry 602 may be based on any suitable processing circuitry606 such as processing circuitry based on one or more microprocessors,microcontrollers, digital signal processors, programmable logic devices,etc. In some embodiments, control circuitry 602 executes instructionsfor an interactive media guidance application or other interactiveapplication (e.g., web browser) from memory. Memory (e.g., random-accessmemory and read-only memory), hard drives, optical drives, or any othersuitable memory or storage devices may be provided as storage 608 thatis part of control circuitry 602. Tuning circuitry such as one or moreanalog tuners, one or more MPEG-2 decoders or other digital videocircuitry, high-definition tuners, or any other suitable tuning or videocircuits or combinations of such circuits may also be included as partof circuitry 602. Encoding circuitry (e.g., for converting over-the-air,analog, or digital signals to MPEG signals for storage) may also beprovided. The tuning and encoding circuitry may be used by the userequipment to receive and display, play, or record a particulartelevision or music channel or other desired audio and video content(e.g., video-on-demand content or requested network-based or local videorecorder playback). Television programming and other video and on-screenoptions and information may be displayed on display 610. Display 610 maybe a monitor, a television, or any other suitable equipment fordisplaying visual images. In some embodiments, display 610 may beHDTV-capable. Speakers 612 may be provided as part of a television ormay be stand-alone units. Digital music and the audio component ofvideos displayed on display 610 may be played through speakers 612. Insome embodiments, the audio may be distributed to a receiver (notshown), which processes and outputs the audio via speakers 612.

A user may control the control circuitry 602 using user input interface614. User input interface 614 may be any suitable user interface, suchas a mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard, touch screen, touch pad, voicerecognition interface, or a remote control.

The media delivery system of FIG. 1 allows users at user equipment 108,user television equipment 110, and user computer equipment 112 to viewmedia content at virtually any user-selected time. Typically, a signalis sent from the user equipment to distribution facility 104 viacommunications paths 114, 116, and/or 118 requesting on-demand mediacontent. Alternatively or additionally, the user equipment could requestmedia content via communications network 126, which could include theInternet. Through VOD or other similar services, distribution facility104 may then deliver the user-requested content to the user equipmentfor presentation. Therefore, media system 100 (FIG. 1) may make selectedtelevision programming and other media content available to the userequipment after the programming or content was initially broadcast oraired. A user may then request and view the media content on the user'sown schedule.

However, some media content contains a temporal component, such as arecommended order of viewing. For example, a television program series,a set of movie sequels, and a sporting event series are typicallyintended to be watched serially, i.e., one episode, show, or game afteranother. If the user watches the series out of order, certain factpatterns, characters, and themes may be out of place in the seriestimeline. Some episodes in the series may be encapsulated singleepisodes that may be watched out of order, while other episodes may relyon plot details and other information from one or more previousepisodes. In addition, some episodes may be arching episodes thatcontain plot information relevant to the entire series. For example, thefirst episode in a program series may introduce key characters andover-arching themes. A user should watch these arching episodes beforewatching any other episodes in the series that rely on, or makereference to, the arching episodes.

There are many other examples of temporal components commonly found inmedia content. For example, some media content may include multipleparts that should be watched sequentially. These multi-part shows areoften linked together with “to be continued” messages at the conclusionof each part. A user who watches the multi-part content out of sequence(or fails to watch a part entirely) may miss overriding themes, theintroduction of new characters, and other plot events. Theaforementioned temporal components are presented for the purposes ofillustration and not limitation. Many other examples of temporalcomponents may be found in popular media content.

In addition, the user may inadvertently watch other media content thatcontains spoilers or other undesirable or irrelevant content aboutprograms the user has not yet seen, but have already been broadcast orotherwise made available to the user equipment. Spoilers may include anyinformation that can reveal (and thereby “spoil”) a plot point in amovie, program, show, etc. that the user has not yet seen. To reduce thepresentation of this undesirable content, the interactive mediamonitoring application may create and maintain user media profiles thattrack the user's progress through user-selected series of programming,episode by episode, show by show, or game by game. When the user hascompleted viewing an episode in the series, the interactive mediamonitoring application may update the appropriate entry in the user'smedia profile to reflect the completion of the episode. In someembodiments, a user is associated with one media profile containing allthe user-selected media content to be monitored. In other embodiments, auser is associated with a separate media profile for each series ofrelated programs to be monitored.

In some embodiments, media profiles may be portable. For example, a userwho accesses public or remote user equipment in media system 100(FIG. 1) may be authenticated and presented with the user's current“roaming” media profile. This roaming profile could be stored at anysuitable location in media system 100, including, for example, the userequipment, distribution facility 104, server 130, and/or server 140(FIG. 1). In addition, updates to the user's roaming profile may becommitted and stored to a network location (e.g., the user's home userequipment, distribution facility 104, server 130, and/or server 140 ofFIG. 1). This way, media profiles are updated even when the user isaccessing user equipment other then the user's primary user equipment(e.g., the user equipment residing at the user's home or office). Usersmay also access their media profile at public user equipment, such asuser equipment kiosks, or at another location, such as a friend's userequipment.

For example, a user may record Game 2 of the World Series and not havetime to watch the game. If the World Series is added to the user's mediaprofile, the user may access his or her media profile from any suitabledevice with network access. The interactive media monitoring applicationmay then filter or replace any content presented on the user devicerelated to Game 2 of the World Series. For example, the score of thegame may be removed or replaced from Internet page headlines that areaccessed from the user's office computer or PDA. After the user watchesthe game, the interactive media monitoring application may update theuser's profile to reflect the user's new viewing progress.

FIGS. 7A and 7B show illustrative user profile record 700 and mediaprofile record 710 in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.User profile record 700 includes user column 702 and profile column 704.User column 702 may include the usernames (or other unique identifier)of all or some of the users accessing the local user equipment. Profilecolumn 704 may contain pointers to the media profile or profilesassociated with the user in user column 702. In some embodiments, usersmay be associated with a single profile for all media content. In otherembodiments, users may be associated separate media profiles for eachseries to be monitored. Additionally or alternatively, users may beassociated with a local media profile and a roaming media profile. Auser's roaming media profile may be available by any user equipment inthe media system. The interactive media monitoring application may readuser profile record 700 after accessing the user equipment, the mediasystem, or the monitoring application. The interactive media monitoringapplication may then follow the pointers contained in profile column 704to access the profiles associated with the current user. Media profilesmay be stored locally at the user equipment or at any convenientlocation within media system 100 (FIG. 1).

Media profiles may be stored in any convenient fashion (e.g., as recordsin one or more relational databases, as lists in memory, and/or as fileson a hard drive or other storage media). If the media profiles arestored remote from the user equipment, the user equipment may access theprofiles through any available communications path (e.g., communicationspath 128 and/or 114 of FIG. 1) or service. Additionally oralternatively, media profiles may be downloaded periodically to the userequipment or the user equipment may periodically query a remote server(e.g., server 140 and/or server 130 of FIG. 1) to deliver media profileupdates to the user equipment. The user equipment may also commit mediaprofile changes to a server or remote location for access by any userequipment in media system 100.

Media profile record 710 shows an illustrative media profile recordstored in a relational database. Media profile record 710 may containprogram column 712, progress column 714, position column 716, and lastaction column 718. The various programs monitored by the interactivemedia monitoring application may be listed in program column 712.Associated with each program in program column 712 may be a mediaprogress indicator, a position indicator, and a last action indicator.Progress column 714 may contain the user's current viewing progress. Forexample, the user's season number and/or episode number may be containedin progress column 714. The episode and season number may be separatedin progress column 714 by any suitable delimiter. If the user has notcompleted the entire episode of the series listed in program column 712,position column 716 may contain the user's elapsed viewing time withinthe episode. Finally, last action column 718 may contain the user's lastmonitored action, if appropriate. For example, last action column 718may include a macro corresponding to the user's most recent action inthe series. Macros may include, for example, “SK” if the user skippedthe last episode, “WA” if the user watched the last episode, “SC” if theuser scheduled the last episode for viewing at a later day or time, and“BP” if the user delayed his or her viewing schedule by one or moreepisodes. Other macros may be included in last action column 718 asappropriate. Last monitoring actions are discussed in more detail belowin regard to viewing progress display 1200 (FIG. 12).

Records 700 and 710 are exemplary. Other records containing more or lessinformation may also be used, as desired. Records 700 and 710 may bestored in any convenient data structure and on any suitable storage ormemory device. The storage format of data in records 700 and 710 mayalso be modified, if desired. Records 700 and 710 may be manipulated andmaintained by the interactive media monitoring application, otherapplications resident on the user equipment, distribution facility 104(FIG. 1), or any other device in the media system.

FIGS. 8A and 8B show illustrative media profile flags 800 and 810 inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention. The interactive mediamonitoring application may remove or replace any media content that isdetermined to be inconsistent with the user's current viewing progress.Content substitutions may be based, in part, on metadata associated withthe substitute content and/or the content to be substituted. Metadatamay be used to describe programming and may include any information thatmay be associated with a program and/or that may describe a program, itscontent, or services related to a program. Further features of anillustrative system for delivering metadata-linked content is describedin Moore et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20010047298,which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

The interactive media monitoring application may analyze contentmetadata in the form of profile flags associated with certain mediacontent accessible by the user equipment. For example, advertisements,news segments, and web content may be associated with one or more mediaprofile flags. These media profile flags may indicate that the mediacontent is related to, or associated with, one or more program seriesidentified in the flags. These flags may be stored in any suitableformat. In the example of FIGS. 8A and 8B, media profile flags aredefined using a mark-up language, such as XML. However, any suitabledata structure may be used to store media profile flags or any othermetadata associated with media content.

Media profile flag 800 may be associated with advertisement 802 or anyother content accessible by the user equipment. Advertisement 802 mayinclude broadcast media content, recorded media content, or mediacontent stored on data source 120 (FIG. 1) or substitute data/contentsource 902 (FIG. 9) described below. Media profile flag 800 isassociated with tag 804, which may indicate the program or programs thatrelate to advertisement 802. In the example of FIG. 8A, tag 804indicates that advertisement 802 relates to season 2, episode 4 of thebroadcast series “Nip/Tuck.” Tag 804 may indicate that advertisement 802is related to one or more programs by associating more than one profileflag with tag 804. For example, tag 804 may indicate that advertisement802 is also related to season 2, episode 1 of the broadcast series“Nip/Tuck” by including another profile flag in tag 804. Someprogramming, such as programming with a strong temporal component, maybe associated with numerous profile flags. For example, an advertisementrelating to season 2, episode 4 of the series “24” may be associatedwith profile flags for all the previous episodes in the season and allthe episodes in the previous season. There is no limit to the number ofprofile flags that may be associated with media content. Tag 804 mayalso indicate the length of advertisement 802, the relevance level tothe program identified by the profile flag, and any other suitableinformation.

Media profile flag 810 of FIG. 8B may be associated with substitutecontent 812. The interactive media monitoring application may analyzemedia profile 810 to determine its candidacy for substitution withadvertisement 802 (FIG. 8A). In the example of FIG. 88B, tag 814 mayindicate that content 812 relates to season 2, episode 1 of thebroadcast series “Nip/Tuck.” Tag 814 may also indicate the length ofsubstitute content 812, the relevance level to the program identified bythe profile flag, and any other related information.

FIG. 9 shows illustrative network resources 914 and substitutedata/content source 902 accessible by user equipment 108, 110, and 112in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. Communications paths903 and 904 may be any suitable paths, including one or more ofcommunications paths 114, 116, 118, 128, 136, and 138 of FIG. 1. Networkaccess node 906 may comprise any network access point, modem, orcommunications circuitry. Through network access node 906, the userequipment may connect to a variety of interactive forums. Theseinteractive forums may include real-time forums (e.g., chat, instantmessage, or other similar forums). Network access node 906 may connectthe user equipment with stored data 908, interactive content 910 (e.g.,interactive games), and discussion forums 912. Discussion forums 912 mayinclude web logs (blogs), chat rooms, newsgroups, electronic bulletinboards, or any other electronic forum capable of exchanging messagesand/or content between a plurality of network users. Interactive content910 and discussion forums 912 may access stored data 908, which maycontain, for example, stored messages or postings, forum membershiplists, user preferences, etc. These forums may be accessible through thepublic Internet or accessible only through a private or secured network.

The user equipment may have the ability to create new discussion forumsbased on a user's media profile and control the new forum's membership.For example, a user who has just watched a certain episode of abroadcast series may be automatically connected to a new discussionforum associated with the episode. The interactive media monitoringapplication may associate topic data with the forum indicating that theforum is related to a particular program, show, or other media content.For example, the interactive media monitoring application may analyzemedia profile data and connect the user to an Internet chatroomassociated with an episode of “24” the user has just watched. Theinteractive media monitoring application may also connect a user toforums relating to previously watched episodes or connect a user to aforum with other users with a similar viewing progress in a particularseries. In some embodiments, the interactive media monitoringapplication may create or connect a user to a forum relating to morethan one series. For example, users who recently watched season 1,episode 2 of “Nip/Tuck” and season 2, episode 4 of “24” may be connectedto the same forum. In this way, a community of forum members that havesimilar viewing experiences may interact and converse in real-time, ifdesired.

The user equipment may also be connected to substitute content/datasource 902 through communications path 903. Substitute content/datasource 902 may include a set of substitute media content forpresentation on the user equipment. This set of substitute content maybe tailored to a user's current viewing progress on the user equipment.For example, if a user at the user equipment has watched only episodes 1and 2 of the series “24” on the FOX® network via VOD or DVR services,the interactive media monitoring application may assemble substitutecontent/data source 902 to contain advertisements, promotions, newssegments, and other media content associated with watched episodes orthe next unwatched episode in the series (i.e., episode 3). Theinteractive media monitoring application may analyze media profile flagsof content accessible by the user equipment to determine which contentshould be included in substitute content/data source 902. In this way,the interactive media monitoring application may create one or moresubstitute data sources containing content for replacing media contentinconsistent with a user's current viewing progress. The media contentreplacement may create a media environment that is more consistent withthe user's current viewing progress.

In some embodiments, substitute content/data source 902 contains contentrelated to all episodes in a series of related programs and is indexedby program name, season number, and/or episode number for easy access bythe interactive media monitoring application. Substitute content/datasource 902 may be at least partially stored at the user equipment, ifdesired. In other embodiments, substitute content/data source 902 isstored at distribution facility 104, server 130, data source 120,service provider 142, or any other suitable location in system 100 (FIG.1).

To access the interactive media monitoring application, theapplication's media profiles, or associated application functions, auser may log-in or be authenticated by a device of media system 100(e.g., distribution facility 104 and/or server 130). Upon log-in orauthentication, the user may access data saved by or for the userincluding, for example, the user's media profile, substitute mediacontent, and other application settings and data. The settings and datamay be stored on any device of media system 100 (e.g., distributionfacility 104 and/or server 130). In some embodiments, a user device mayautomatically log-in or authenticate a user on behalf of the user of thedevice. For example, the user device may automatically send its log-ininformation (available from a previous log-in or authentication of theuser) over a communications path to the appropriate device of system 100and access the interactive media monitoring application features.Biometric authentication (e.g., a fingerprint scan, voice verification,and/or an iris scan) may authenticate the user at the device of mediasystem 100 before sending the user's log-in information. In someembodiments, the interactive media monitoring application may prompt theuser for log-in or authentication information (e.g., when the useraccesses some user equipment in the media system).

FIGS. 10-17 show illustrative interactive media monitoring applicationdisplay screens. The display screens may be displayed to the user aspart of an interactive media application accessed over a suitablecommunications link or the screens may be displayed locally on the userequipment currently being accessed by the user. FIGS. 10-17 are shownand described herein in the context of illustrative interactive mediamonitoring application display screens. Any other suitable pages ordisplay screens may be used. Display screens of the interactive mediamonitoring application as shown in FIGS. 10-17 use commonly-usedapplication selection objects such as hyperlinks, buttons, lists,dropdown boxes, and checkboxes. It will be understood that theseselection objects are only illustrative, and other selection objects canbe used by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope andspirit of the present invention.

FIG. 10 shows illustrative log-in (or authentication) display screen1000 that the interactive media monitoring application may display onthe user equipment. In some embodiments, users may always be required tolog-in using log-in screen 1000. In other embodiments, users may berequired to log-in only if the interactive media monitoring applicationis in multi-user mode. If the interactive media monitoring applicationis setup for single-user mode, log-in screen 1000 may be bypassed (orauthentication credentials of the user may be automatically supplied).The user may access screen 1000 by any suitable means including, forexample, pressing PROFILES key 420 of remote control 400 (FIG. 4) orother suitable key or key sequence, navigating from another interactivemedia monitoring application screen (e.g., when navigating from a publicscreen to a user-specific or private screen), or by any other suitablemeans. Log-in screen 1000 may be integrated with log-in display screensfrom other interactive media applications so that one “master” log-inscreen is displayed on the user equipment. Authentication tokens may bepassed between interactive media applications so that all applicationsreceive the same authentication credentials.

Log-in screen 1000 includes information section 1002 that providesinstructions for the user to enter the user's username and password tolog-in (or authenticate) to the interactive media monitoringapplication. The user may use a user input device (e.g., remote control400 of FIG. 4) to enter his username in a username box (e.g., box 1020)and his password in a password box (e.g., box 1022). The user may submitthe username and password using a enter option (e.g., button 1024).Log-in screen 1000 may include an option (e.g., button 1032) that theuser may select if the user has forgotten his username and/or password,as indicated by description 1030. In response to selecting the forgottenusername/password option, the interactive media monitoring applicationmay transmit the appropriate username and password to the user (e.g., byelectronic mail, regular mail, text message, and/or telephone). Log-inscreen 1000 includes an option (e.g., button 1036) for creating a newuser account, as indicated by description 1031. In response to selectingbutton 1036, the interactive media monitoring application may prompt theuser to create a new username and password, which may be transmitted tothe appropriate device of system 100 (e.g., distribution facility 104and/or server 130).

The interactive media monitoring application may transmit username andpassword data entered by the user to the appropriate device of system100 (e.g., the user equipment, distribution facility 104, and/or server130), which may in turn compare data to authentication data stored onthe system to authenticate the user. Once the user has beenauthenticated, the interactive media monitoring application may retrievethe user's media profile and access or connect to any substitute mediacontent or data sources required to present the user with a consistentmedia environment. For example, substitute advertisements may bedownloaded from a server (e.g., server 130 and/or server 140), datasource (e.g., data source 120 or substitute data/content source 902 ofFIG. 9), or network provider to replace any advertisements relating tofuture or unwatched episodes of media content contained in the user'smedia profile. In some embodiments, content relating to the nextunwatched episode or program in the series is considered consistent withthe user's media profile, while more distant programs in the series areconsidered inconsistent with the user's media profile. For example, insome embodiments, a user, who has watched through episode 5 of a certaintelevision series, may be presented with advertisements relating toepisode 6 of the series, but advertisements relating to episode 7 andbeyond may be removed or replaced with content from the substitutecontent or data source. This reduces irrelevant or undesired content(e.g., spoilers) from being presented on the user equipment.

FIG. 11 shows illustrative user welcome summary display screen 1100 inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention. In some embodiments,upon logging into the interactive media monitoring application, a usermay be presented with summary screen 1100. A user may also accesssummary screen 1100 via an interactive program guide or anotherinteractive media application. Summary screen 1100 may list the programsor other media content that the user has missed since the user's lastlog-in to the interactive media monitoring application. The programsdisplayed in content column 1102 may correspond to programs theinteractive media application is monitoring for the current user (i.e.,programs, series, or other media content the user has included in theuser's media profile to be monitored). In some embodiments, the programsto be monitored are included in program column 712 of media profilerecord 710. In the example of FIG. 11, content column 1102 containsthree broadcast series and one broadcast sporting event. Source column1104 lists the channel or source of the media content in content column1102. The user may select one or more of actions 1106, 1108, and 1110for each program listed in content column 1102 by highlighting theappropriate selection and selecting accept button 1112. For example, theuser may schedule viewing of a missed episode for a later date and timeby selecting schedule selection 1106. The scheduled program may then beautomatically accessed and presented on the user equipment at thescheduled date and time. To skip the episode and advance the user'smedia profile as if the episode had been watched, the user may selectskip selection 1108. A user may then be given options similar to actions1106, 1108, and 1110 relating to subsequent media content related to themedia content in content column 1102. For example, the user's mediaprofile may advance to the next episode in the series. To view a contentsummary of the missed episode, the user may select summary selection1110. Upon selecting summary selection 1110, the user may be presentedwith a text-only content summary, a text and graphics content summary,or a content summary containing text, graphics, and video.

Several options may be presented to a user for watching a program orseries of programs on a time-shifted basis depending on such factors as,for example, the type of program (e.g., whether the program is more of aserial program or more of an episodic program), how far the user'sviewing progress is behind, etc. Exemplary options may include: (1)watch this program now; (2) watch this program before the next episodein the series (or at the next regularly schedule time for this program);(3) show the user a summary (video/highlights, text, or a combination ofthe two) of this episode (e.g., via tvguide.com, or TV Guide Spot) sothat the user can keep up with the series even though the user does notwish to watch this entire episode; or (4) skip this episode. Othersuitable viewing options may also be presented.

The content summary may be at least partially derived from one or moredata sources, such as tvguide.com and/or TV Guide Spot. TV Guide Spot,which is available online and via an interactive channel accessible bythe user equipment, features original entertainment programming designedto help viewers decide what to watch. TV Guide Spot also providesshowcase segments on upcoming programming and events, “catch-up”segments that update viewers on plot developments of popular shows, andmany other interactive features. In some embodiments, closed captioningdata is analyzed and used to create content summaries, as described inmore detail in patent application Ser. No. ______, filed ______(Attorney Docket No. UV-349/UV-383), which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety. After being presented with the contentsummary, the user may watch the full program, schedule the program forpresentation on the user equipment at a later date and time, or skip theprogram and advance the user's media profile.

To configure settings for the interactive media monitoring application,the user may select setup button 1114. Upon selecting setup button 1114,the user may be linked to settings screen 1300 (FIG. 13) describedbelow. To setup an episode viewing reminder, such as the reminder ofFIG. 14 (described below), the user may select reminders button 1116. Toexit welcome summary screen 1100 without making any changes, the usermay select cancel button 1118. To accept the selections made in summaryscreen 1100, the user may select accept button 1112.

FIG. 12 shows illustrative user media viewing progress screen 1200 inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention. In one embodiment,progress screen 1200 may be accessed via PROFILES button 420 of remotecontrol 400 of FIG. 4. In other embodiments, progress screen 1200 isaccessed via a link from another interactive media application, such asan interactive program guide. Media viewing progress screen 1200displays a user's current viewing progress of user-selected mediacontent included in the user's media profile. For example, the programsincluded in media profile record 710 (FIG. 7B) may be included inprogress screen 1200. Media content included in media content summaryregion 1202 may include any content capable of being displayed by,presented to, or recorded by, the user equipment 110 of FIG. 1.Typically content included in media content summary region 1202 has apre-defined viewing order, as with a traditional broadcast series andsporting event series, so that the interactive media monitoringapplication may track a user's progress through the series of relatedprograms.

Media content summary region 1202 may include content column 1204,progress column 1206, and last action column 1208. The name or title ofthe monitored media content may be displayed in content column 1204.Next to each content name, the user's current viewing progress may belisted in progress column 1206. In some embodiments, the season andepisode number are tracked. In other embodiments, only the episodenumber is tracked. For example, in the illustrative display screen ofFIG. 12, the current user has watched through season 3, episode 3 of theseries “24” on the FOX® network. In some embodiments, this indicatesthat the user has watched episodes 1 through 3 of season 3 only. Inother embodiments, this viewing progress indicates that the user haswatched episodes 1 through 3 of season 3 and all the episodes in anyprevious season or seasons (e.g., seasons 1 and 2). The user may setupthe user's media profile to track a user's viewing progress through theseries as a whole or through the series on a season basis. The currentprogress in progress column 1206 indicates that the user's lastcompleted program in the series is season 3, episode 3. In an alternateembodiment, progress column 1206 may display the next episode for theuser to watch. A user may highlight any entry in progress column 1206 toautomatically present the next unwatched episode in the series on theuser equipment. In some embodiments, if a user's current viewingprogress is consistent with the progress being broadcast or otherwisemade available to the user equipment (e.g., released as a VOD, PPV, oron-demand content selection), then progress column 1206 may display thedate and/or time the next program will be broadcast or otherwise madeavailable to the user equipment.

The interactive media monitoring application may use information storedin the user's media profile to remove or replace any media content thatis inconsistent with the user's current viewing progress. For example,an advertisement promoting season 3, episode 7 of the series “24” may bereplaced with an advertisement promoting season 3, episode 4, which maybe the user's next unwatched episode as indicated by the user's mediaprofile. The user may change the current viewing progress in the user'smedia profile by selecting any progress indicator in progress column1206. For example, a user may wish to advance or reset his or herviewing progress so that Game 3 of the MLB, World Series is reflected aswatched. The user may wish to change the user's viewing progress if theuser watched an episode in the series at a location not monitored by theinteractive media monitoring application. The user may highlight theappropriate indicator in progress column 1206 and press an appropriatecommand (e.g., the left or right arrows on remote control 400 of FIG. 4)to change the progress indictor associated with the series.

The user's last viewing action associated with each entry in mediacontent summary region 1202 is displayed in last action column 1208. Forexample, actions in last action column 1208 may include “Skipped Ahead,”“Watched,” “Viewed Summary,” “In Progress,” “Scheduled,” or any othersupported media action. In some embodiments, last action column 1208 mayalso display the user's most recent viewing status. For example, if theuser attempted to view the program, but stopped the program before theprogram completed, the “Interrupted” status may be displayed in lastaction column 1208 along with the time or position within the programwhere the was interrupted or stopped viewing the program. A link tostart the program where the user left off may also be displayed in lastaction column 1208.

To add new media content to a user's media profile, a user may selectadd content button 1210. The interactive media monitoring applicationmay then link to program guide data (perhaps associated with aninteractive television program guide) to present a listing of availablemedia content that may be included in the user's media profile. A usermay add content to the user's media profile in several other ways aswell. For example, the user may highlight or select a program from anyinteractive media application display screen and select the appropriate“Add to Media Profile” option to add the series associated with theprogram to the user's media profile. In some embodiments, content may beadded to a user's media profile automatically. For example, theinteractive media monitoring application may monitor a user's viewinghabits, including, for example, what programs are watched and how oftenprograms are watched. The interactive media monitoring application maythen automatically add certain content to the user's media profile. Forexample, the interactive media monitoring application may add abroadcast series to a user's media profile after more than one episodewithin the series has been watched by the user. As another example, whena user schedules a series recording via an interactive program guide orother interactive media application, the interactive media monitoringapplication may automatically add the program series to the user's mediaprofile. Other criteria for automatically adding a program series to auser's media profile may also be used.

Some content may be ineligible for inclusion in the user's mediaprofile. For example, the interactive media monitoring application maybe unable to process broadcast programming without a temporal or seriescomponent (such as some feature movies and most websites). In someembodiments, the user may be unable to select this content in a medialisting presented to the user. In other embodiments, the “Add to MediaProfile” option is not associated with media content without a temporalcomponent. To change settings of the interactive media monitoringapplication, the user may select setup button 1212. Upon selecting setupbutton 1212, the user may be linked to settings screen 1300 (FIG. 13)described below. To exit the user's media profile progress screen, theuser may select cancel button 1214.

FIG. 13 shows an illustrative setup screen for customizing the mediamonitoring application in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention. The settings and categories of settings described inconnection with FIG. 13 are merely for illustration and are not meant tolimit the settings that may be provided in the present invention. Thesettings in global settings screen 1300 may be divided into profilesettings and filter settings. Profile settings may include the profiletype, user mode, reminder frequency, summary type, and any other profilesetting. The user may select to use local, roaming, or no media profilesvia profile type choice 1304. If a roaming profile is selected, theuser's media profile is made available to other user equipment withinthe user's media system. For example, a profile could be converted to aroaming profile by caching or copying the user's media profile ondistribution server 104, server 130, server 140, or any other suitablelocation within system 100 (FIG. 1). Alternatively or additionally,roaming profiles may be accessible via a communications networkconnected to the user equipment. For example user media profiles may bestored on a file server and made accessible to authorized users via theInternet. Once a user is successfully authenticated (or a deviceassociated with the user is successfully authenticated), the user'sroaming profile may be downloaded or accessed from a location remotefrom the user equipment and applied to the user equipment that the useris currently using to access the interactive media monitoringapplication. In this way, a user's media profile may be portablethroughout media system 100 (FIG. 1) and other similar media systems.

If the user selects a local media profile from profile type choice 1304,the media profile may not be available by other user equipment in theuser's media system. The use of local media profiles may reduce networktraffic since local media profiles may be stored at the local userequipment. Local media profiles may be converted to roaming (and viceversa) at any time. If the user wishes not to use media profiles, theuser may select to disable media profiles by selecting “None” fromprofile type choice 1304.

The user may select a user mode via user mode selection 1306. In someembodiments, every user that accesses a piece of user equipment sharesthe same media profile. In these embodiments, called single-user mode,log-in screen 1000 (FIG. 10) may be automatically bypassed. The user mayselect multi-user mode by selecting the “Multi” setting in user modeselection 1306. When multi-user mode is enabled, each user accessing theuser equipment is required to log-in via log-in screen 1000 so that theinteractive media monitoring application can determine which mediaprofile to use. In some embodiments, multiple users may be logged in atthe same time. This may be desirable in the present invention if, forexample, multiple users are watching a television program at the sametime. With multiple users logged in at the same time, the interactivemedia monitoring application may update more than one media profile uponthe presentation of a single program.

Using reminder frequency choice 1308, the user may select to receivedaily, weekly, or custom viewing reminders relating to media in theuser's media profile. For example, if the user is behind in watching acertain series (with respect to what has been broadcast or otherwisemade available to the user equipment), the interactive media monitoringapplication may remind the user to take appropriate action (e.g., watchthe missed episode(s) before the next episode is aired, view a summaryof the missed episode or episodes, and/or schedule the missed episode orepisodes to be automatically viewed at a later time). Reminders may bescheduled to be displayed on any convenient schedule. If the desiredschedule is not displayed in reminder frequency choice 1308, the“Custom” option may be selected to setup a tailored schedule.

The user may select the default content summary type in summary typechoice 1310. Several content summaries may be available, includingtext-only content summaries, text and graphics content summaries, andtext, graphics, and video content summaries. Content summaries may bestored on the user equipment or at a remote location in media system 100of FIG. 1 (e.g., distribution facility 104 and/or data source 120).Summary type choice 1310 allows a user to define the type of contentsummaries displayed on the user equipment. This setting may be useful inlow bandwidth or high network latency environments to restrict what typeof content summaries are presented on the user equipment.

Settings display screen 1300 may also include filter settings. Filtercontent choice 1312 lists the available types of media to be filtered.Filter content choice 1312 may include, for example, broadcast, VOD, andweb content. For each of the content types selected in filter contentchoice 1312, the interactive media monitoring application may take someaction when the media monitoring application encounters content that isinconsistent with the user's media profile. For example, advertising andnews segments within a live broadcast may contain content related to oneor more unwatched episodes in the user's media profile. The interactivemedia monitoring application may dynamically filter this inconsistentcontent and remove or replace the content with content related to one ormore already watched episodes (or, in some embodiments, the next episodeto be watched). As another example, a VOD program about to be presentedon the user equipment may include advertising relating to an unwatchedepisode of “24.” The interactive media monitoring application mayanalyze episode data contained in media profile flags associated withthe advertising content and remove the advertising relating to theunwatched episode and/or replace the advertising with advertisements orother content relating to an already watched episode of “24.” Theinteractive media monitoring application may also compare the user'smedia profile data with profile flags associated with the inconsistentcontent to be replaced and/or the content replacing the inconsistentmedia content. The user may also select the default “All Media” optionin filter content choice 1312 to instruct the media monitoringapplication to filter all supported media types (e.g., web, broadcast,and VOD content). To disable filtering of media content, the user mayselect “None” in filter content choice 1312.

Several filter actions may be defined in action choice 1314 inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention. The default filteraction is “Follow Me.” This action substitutes inconsistent media withmedia content relevant to the user's current viewing progress (asdefined in the user's media profile). For example, if a user has watchedthrough season 3, episode 4 of “Nip/Tuck” on the FX network, theinteractive media monitoring application may substitute advertisements,news segments, and other media content associated with the series withmedia content directed toward the next unwatched episode in the series(i.e., season 3, episode 5). Specifically, the advertisements, newssegments, and other media content that may be replaced may relate to anyunwatched episode beyond or after the user's next unwatched episode(i.e., season 3, episode 6 and beyond).

In other embodiments, the interactive media monitoring applicationsimply blanks, or removes, inconsistent media content when it isencountered. The interactive media monitoring application may compareprofile flags associated with media content about to be presented on theuser equipment with the user's media profile data. If inconsistent mediais located, the interactive media monitoring application may remove thiscontent and/or prevent the content from being resented on the userequipment. This prevents the user from watching spoilers or othercontent, which may reveal content from episodes that the user has notyet viewed. Another option in action choice 1314 is to replaceinconsistent media content with a fixed graphic or video. For example,upon selecting “Replace” in action choice 1314, the user may bepresented with an overlay or display to specify a local graphic, video,or other media content. The interactive media monitoring application mayreplace inconsistent content about to be displayed on the user equipmentwith this local content whenever inconsistent content is encountered.

If the user wishes the filter to take no action, then the user mayselect “None” in action choice 1314. To save the settings as displayedin global settings screen 1300, the user may select save button 1316. Todiscard global settings screen 1300 without saving, the user may selectcancel button 1318.

FIG. 14 shows an illustrative user reminder display screen 1400 inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention. The interactive mediamonitoring application may remind a user of upcoming or missed episodesin a user's media profile at various times. For example, reminder screen1400 may be presented to a user after log-in via log-in screen 1000(FIG. 10) as an overlay on log-in screen 1000, after a new episode of aseries included in the user's media profile has been broadcast, or aftera system (or custom) reminder frequency has elapsed. In one embodiment,the interactive media monitoring application presents reminder screen ona custom reminder schedule, as defined via the “Custom” option offrequency choice 1308 of settings screen 1300 (FIG. 13).

Reminder screen 1400 may include information box 1402, which alerts theuser to some media profile reminder. In the example of FIG. 14,information box 1402 informs the user that another episode in the series“Nip/Tuck” is going to be aired on Monday. The interactive mediamonitoring application may use schedule information derived frominteractive program guide data to determine when the next program in aseries is to be broadcast. Information box 1402 informs the user that heor she may wish to watch any missed episodes before the next episode isto be broadcast. For example, if the user has not watched episodes 2 or3 of the series “Nip/Tuck,” reminder screen 1400 may remind the user towatch both episodes before episode 4 is broadcast.

Media profile reminders may be displayed in several different formsdepending on the particular platform involved. For example, if theinteractive media monitoring application is running on a computerplatform or Internet media terminal, media profile reminders may bepresented as Internet pop-up windows or system dialog boxes. Othersuitable forms of media profile reminders include, for example, emailmessages, SMS/EMS/MMS messages, television overlays. Reminders may alsobe delivered to remote user devices, such as pagers and telephones thatare not running the interactive media monitoring application.

In addition, the user may take several pre-defined actions in responseto a reminder. For example, the user may watch the missed episode byselecting watch button 1404. Upon selecting watch button 1404, the userequipment may contact distribution facility 104 (FIG. 1) to present theuser with any unwatched episodes in the series using VOD services. Ifthe user watches one or more unwatched episodes, the user's mediaprofile is automatically updated accordingly. The user may also schedulethe missed episode for automatic presentation on the user equipment at alater date and time by selecting schedule button 1406. For example, theuser may schedule the missed episode for automatic presentation 30minutes after display of the reminder. To advance the user's mediaprofile without watching the missed episode, the user may select skipbutton 1408. To view a summary or synopsis of the missed episode, theuser may select summary button 1410. Upon selecting summary button 1410,the user may be presented with a text, graphic, or video summary of themissed episode. The type of summary presented to the user may depend onthe summary type option selected in type choice 1310 of settings screen1300 (FIG. 13). To bump or delay a user's viewing schedule by one ormore episodes without watching the episode, the user may select bumpbutton 1412. If a user's schedule is bumped, profile reminders may bedelayed by one or more program periods. For example, if a user bumps amissed episode that is broadcast weekly, profile reminders may bescheduled for display on a schedule delayed by one week. The user maythen watch the series of programs one week behind the program'sbroadcast schedule. If a user is behind by more than one episode, theuser may be provided with a list of unwatched episodes. The user maythen select to watch one or more of the episodes, schedule one or moreof the episodes for viewing at a later time, or view a content summaryof one or more of the episodes. Actions 1404, 1406, 1408, 1410, and 1412are merely exemplary, and other actions may be provided. For example,reminder screen 1400 may include selections for any other action capableof being carried out by the media monitoring application or anotherinteractive media application running on the user equipment. Toconfigure media profile reminders, the user may select setup button1414. In some embodiments, selecting setup button 1414 presents the userwith settings screen 1300 (FIG. 13). To discard reminder screen 1400without taking any action, the user may select cancel selection 1416.

In some embodiments, the interactive media monitoring application allowsa user to prioritize content within a user's media profile. The showslisted in reminder display screen 1400 may be displayed in order ofpriority determined by interactive media monitoring application based ona user's media profile. For example, a user may prefer being morecurrent with the series “24” than the series “Nip/Tuck.” In thisexample, a user may configure the series “24” to have a higher prioritythan the series “Nip/Tuck” in the user's media profile. In someembodiments, the interactive media monitoring application may remind theuser to watch higher priority programs more often than lower priorityprograms. This may be desirable for a particular user because thisuser's co-workers and/or friends may watch “24” and not “Nip/Tuck” andmay discuss the content of “24” in front of the user on a regular basis.

In some embodiments, a user may create a personalized schedule ofprogramming for different series of programs. For example, using bumpbutton 1412 a user may create a viewing schedule such that the viewingschedule is in order, but one week (or some other predetermined amountof time) behind the schedule for when the episode of the program isbroadcast or otherwise made available to the user equipment. Forexample, a user may wish to watch the series “24” one day (or one week)after the scheduled broadcast each week. The interactive mediamonitoring application may delay viewing reminders based on this customviewing schedule (e.g., reminders may be presented at the time theprogram is broadcast or released one week behind schedule or at anyother desired time).

FIG. 15 shows illustrative filtered web content screen 1500 inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention. The interactive mediamonitoring application may replace or remove any media content that isinconsistent with a user's media profile. For example, in someembodiments the interactive media monitoring application replacesadvertising provided in a web page, which is typically received from onecontent or data source, with substitute advertising received fromanother content or data source. The substitute advertising data may becorrelated with the user's viewing progress (as defined by the user'smedia profile) so that irrelevant or inconsistent advertising isreplaced with the substitute advertising. For example, profile flags(such as profile flags 800 and 810 of FIGS. 8A and 8B) may be associatedwith web content objects. The interactive media monitoring applicationmay receive these profile flags before the web page is presented on theuser equipment and compare the profile flag data to data associated withthe user's media profile. If any inconsistent content is encountered,the interactive media monitoring application may remove or replace theinconsistent content with content consistent with the user's mediaprofile.

A user's media profile may also be made available to external sources,such as content distributors, search engines, and discussion forms. Insome embodiments, the interactive media monitoring application maydeliver data associated with a user's media profile to authorized,requesting external sources. In other embodiments, external sources mayaccess media profiles stored on a shared network location (e.g., anInternet server). The external sources may then provide content to theuser that is consistent with the user's media profile.

For example, a user, who is searching for webpages using an externalsearch engine, may be presented with custom search results. The customsearch results may be tailored to the user's current progress in one ormore programs being monitored by the interactive media monitoringapplication. For example, search results that link to content containingspoilers or other undesirable content relating to unwatched episodes maybe removed from the user's search results display page. As anotherexample, a user visiting an external discussion forum may only bepresented with postings relating to media content that the user hasalready watched. The discussion forum may access data stored in theuser's media profile to determine the user's current progress in one ormore programs being monitored by the interactive media monitoringapplication and present content to the user accordingly. In someembodiments, the user may be given the opportunity to choose whether tobe presented with content relating to unwatched episodes in the user'smedia profile.

Others types of media may also be filtered by the interactive mediamonitoring application. Filtered web content page 1500 includes filteredweb content object 1502, which, in the example of FIG. 15, is a web pageobject, but could include any network resource or Internet object. Uponaccessing supported websites, the interactive media monitoringapplication may send a token to the web server in advance of retrievinga web content object. The web server may parse the token and, based onparsed data in the token, return custom or filtered data to therequesting client, including tailored text (including articleheadlines), advertising, graphics, images, video, etc. Complete customwebpages may also be delivered to the requesting user, if desired. Inthe example of FIG. 15, filtered web content object 1502 is a web pagerelating to the user's next unwatched episode of “Desperate Housewives”(e.g., season 2, episode 2). Token data, which in some embodiments iscookie data, may be used to determine the user's current viewingprogress on the user equipment. The token data may include datarepresentative of the user's actual viewing progress (e.g., the seasonnumber and/or episode number or any other unique episode identifier of aprogram series) or may include data representative of the user accessingthe website or network resource. If the token data includes informationrelating to the user accessing the website or network resource, the webserver may access media profile information from a network orthird-party location and then use this information to deliver customcontent to the user equipment.

If the user wishes to view the current, generic version of the webpageor network resource, the user may select show current button 1504. Uponselecting show current button 1504, the public version of filtered webcontent object 1502 is presented to the user. To discard web contentpage 1500, the user may select cancel button 1506.

The user may access filtered web content (as well as any other mediacontent) on any form of suitable user equipment. In some embodiments,the user equipment may be outside media system 100. For example, a user,who is accessing media content from a PDA, cellular telephone, or officecomputer or television, may also be provided with filtered content.These devices may access publicly accessible media profile data storedon a network storage device and use this profile data to requestfiltered content. In some embodiments, a client version of the mediamonitoring application may be installed on the devices outside mediasystem 100. The client media monitoring application may access the mediaprofile data and provide substantially the same monitoring and filteringcapabilities as the interactive media monitoring application residentwithin media system 100. In this way, a user, who is accessing theInternet at work using his work computer, may still access the user'smedia profile and receive filtered web content objects as if the userwas at his home user equipment.

FIG. 16 shows illustrative interactive program guide listing screen 1600in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. Interactive programguide listing screen 1600 may include listing data area 1602,advertisement/preview panel 1604, and advertisement/preview panel 1606.In one embodiment, the media content presented in preview panels 1604and 1606 is accessed from an advertising content or data source, such asdata source 120 or programming sources 102 (FIG. 1). Additionally oralternatively, the content in preview panels 1604 and 1606 may beconnected to any user selections in listing data area 1602. For example,as a user scrolls through listings in listing data area 1602, the mediapresented in preview panels 1604 and 1606 may change. The interactivemedia monitoring application may replace or filter advertising and/orvideo previews presented in preview panels 1604 and 1606 in a number ofways. In one embodiment, advertising or previews inconsistent with auser's media profile are removed. In other embodiments, the interactivemedia monitoring application obtains media content for preview panels1604 and 1606 from a substitute content or data source (e.g., substitutecontent/data source 902 of FIG. 9). The interactive media monitoringapplication may similarly replace full screen advertisements andpreviews, such as television broadcast advertisements, that arepresented on the user equipment. As described above, full screenadvertisements and previews that are inconsistent with a user's mediaprofile may be removed or replaced with media content from a substitutedata source or fixed content.

This substitute content or data source may be filtered so as to beconsistent with a user's current viewing progress. For example,advertisements for the next unwatched episode of “Desperate Housewives”may be included in the substitute content or data source. Theinteractive media monitoring application may compare the user's currentviewing progress in media profile record 710 (FIG. 7) with profile flagsassociated with the suitable substitute content (e.g., profile flags 800and/or 810 of FIGS. 8A and 8B). Content relating to the next unwatchedepisode (or watched episodes) in the program series may be added to thesubstitute content or data source. Content in the substitute content ordata source may then be presented in preview panels 1604 or 1606.Alternatively or additionally, when a user selects the program listingin listing data area 1602 corresponding to a series in the user's mediaprofile, media content may be accessed and displayed in preview panels1604 or 1606 based on the user's viewing progress in that series. Forexample, if a user selects the program listing for “Nip/Tuck” fromlisting data area 1602, an advertisement for the user's next unwatchedepisode of “Nip/Tuck” may be presented to the user in preview panels1604 or 1606.

FIG. 17 shows illustrative user network communities display screen 1700in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. A user may beautomatically connected to event communities associated with contentrecently watched by the user. These event communities may be availableon the public Internet or the communities may be accessed via a privatemedia network, such as communication network 126 (FIG. 1). User networkcommunities screen 1700 presents the user with media content in theuser's media profile in program column 1702. Along with the mediacontent name, the user's current season and episode number (ifapplicable) may also be displayed in program column 1702. A user mayselect any content listed in program column 1702 and be connected to anycommunity type listed in community type choice 1704. For example,communities may include any network-based forum capable of exchangingmessages between a number of users, such as web logs (blogs), chatrooms, newsgroups, and discussion forums. Some of these forums may bereal-time forums, such as chat rooms and instant messaging forums. Forexample, a user, who has just watched Game 2 of the World Series, may beconnected to a chat room with other users, who have also just watchedGame 2 of the World Series or a blog with information relating to Game 2of the World Series. The interactive media monitoring application maycompare progress data stored in media profile record 710 with dataassociated with available forums and control the membership of the forumor community as new users request access to the forum or community. Theusers in the forum may converse in real-time about the content they havejust watched or any other topic. In one embodiment, the user's instantmessaging service is automatically invoked after selecting “InstantMessage” from community type choice 1704. An associated messagingservice is then launched with a “buddy list” of other users connected tothe instant message community for the associated content in programcolumn 1702. In this way, the user's buddy list may reflect only usersthat have recently watched a particular program, such as Game 2 of theWorld Series.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of illustrative process 1800 for accessing andinitializing the interactive media monitoring application in accordancewith one embodiment of the invention. Upon attempting to access theinteractive media monitoring application (e.g., via pressing a key on auser input device or being presented with log-in screen 1000 (FIG. 10)),the user may arrive at start step 1802. The interactive media monitoringapplication may determine at decision 1804 whether the application isconfigured for single-user or multi-user mode. The mode option may bederived from user mode selection 1306 of settings screen 1300 (FIG. 13).If the interactive media monitoring application determines at decision1804 that the application is running in multi-user mode, the user may beauthenticated at step 1806. Step 1806 may correspond to the submissionof a log-in or authentication screen (such as log-in screen 1000 of FIG.10). At decision 1808, the interactive media monitoring application maydetermine if the user is valid. If the user is valid, the interactivemedia monitoring application may then decide if the user's media profileneeds to be updated at decision 1810. If the user is not validated atdecision 1808, the interactive media monitoring application may try toauthenticate the user again at step 1806.

If the application is running in single-user mode, or if a valid userhas been detected at decision 1808, the interactive media monitoringapplication may determine if the current user's media profile needs tobe updated at decision 1810. At this point, the interactive mediamonitoring application may determine if the user has missed any episodesof programs contained in the user's media profile. If a positivedetermination is made at decision 1810, the interactive media monitoringapplication may display the user's current viewing progress based on theuser's media profile at display 1812. Based on any received user input,the application may then update the user's media profile at step 1814.Updating a user's profile may require network access in someembodiments, particularly if the profile is a roaming profile. After theuser's profile is updated, or if a negative determination is made atdecision 1810, the illustrative process may stop at step 1816.

In practice, one or more steps shown in process 1800 may be combinedwith other steps, performed in any suitable order, performed inparallel—e.g., simultaneously or substantially simultaneously—ordeleted.

FIG. 19 is a flow chart of illustrative process 1900 for filtering mediacontent in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. The processstarts at step 1902. This step may correspond to enabling media profilesvia settings screen 1300 (FIG. 13). At decision 1904, the interactivemedia monitoring application may determine if the current user has alocal or roaming profile. This determination may be made from profiletype choice 1304 (FIG. 13). If the interactive media monitoringapplication determines that the user is associated with a roamingprofile, the user's profile may be accessed at step 1906. In someembodiments, the interactive media monitoring application may read theuser's roaming profile into memory. In other embodiments, theinteractive media monitoring application may download the profile from aremote location. Version controls and concurrency measures may beimplemented by the interactive media monitoring application if theprofile is to be accessed at the same time by more than one interactivemedia application.

If the interactive media monitoring application determines at decision1904 that the user is associated with a local profile, the user's localprofile may be accessed at step 1908. After the appropriate profile hasbeen accessed, the interactive media monitoring application may trackthe user's viewing progress of content included in the profile at step1910. For example, as a user completes an episode of a season of “24,”the user's media profile may be automatically updated to reflect thisevent. Interrupted or incomplete viewings of an episode may be treatedas unwatched episodes in some embodiments. In other embodiments, anincomplete or interrupted viewing may cause the interactive mediamonitoring application to save state data about the user's viewingprogress to the user's media profile (e.g., the interactive mediamonitoring application may save the user's time position within theepisode). The user may then access the user's media profile and startthe episode at the point the user was interrupted. In some embodiments,the interactive media monitoring application may also consider theuser's time position within a program when substituting contentinconsistent with a user's media profile. For example, if the user hasnot yet watched a player in Game 2 of the World Series hit a grand slamhomerun, the interactive media monitoring application may filter contentthat refers to, or is associated with, this event. The interactive mediamonitoring application may analyze position and progress data in mediaprofile record 710 to determine the user's position within an episode.The application may then compare this data to media profile flag data,such as the data contained in tags 804 and 814 of profile flags 800(FIG. 8A) and 810 (FIG. 8B), respectively, to determine what content isconsistent with the user's current viewing progress.

At decision 1912, the interactive media monitoring application maydetermine if filters are enabled. This setting may correspond to filterchoice 1312 of FIG. 13. If filters are enabled, the interactive mediamonitoring application may associate substitute content or data source902 (FIG. 9) with the user's viewing environment. The interactive mediamonitoring application may compare profile flags associated with mediacontent to be displayed on the user equipment with the user's mediaprofile at step 1914. For example, media flags 800 and 810 Of FIGS. 8Aand 8B may be compared with media profile record 710 of FIG. 7B. Theinteractive media monitoring application may then remove or replacemedia content associated with profile flags that are inconsistent withthe user's media profile at step 1916. The interactive media monitoringapplication may also create a substitute content or data sourcecontaining replacement media content associated with profile flags thatare consistent with the user's media profile. In other embodiments, adynamic filter may screen media content profile flags before content ispresented on the user equipment. Any content that is associated withfuture or unwatched programs in the user's media profile (except in someembodiments the next unwatched program) may be automatically removed orreplaced, depending on the user's preferences. In some embodiments, theinteractive media monitoring application presents a display screen,overlay, or dialog warning the user of inconsistent media content aboutto be displayed on the user equipment. The user may then select to viewthe inconsistent content, skip or fast-forward through the inconsistentcontent, freeze the presentation of the media content, or any othersuitable action. At step 1918, the illustrative process may stop.

In practice, one or more steps shown in process 1900 may be combinedwith other steps, performed in any suitable order, performed inparallel—e.g., simultaneously or substantially simultaneously—ordeleted. For example, step 1910 of tracking a user's viewing progressmay be performed while filtering media content at step 1914. In anotherembodiment, decision 1912 and step 1914 are removed completely (e.g.,when filters are globally disabled via settings screen 1300).

FIG. 20 is a flow chart of illustrative process 2000 for tracking mediaviewing progress and accessing network communities in accordance withone embodiment of the invention. The process begins at step 2002. Thisstep may correspond to accessing the interactive media monitoringapplication or enabling a user's media profile. At step 2004, the usermay be presented with some media content on the user equipment. Theinteractive media monitoring application may determine at decision 2006if the media content recently or currently being presented to the useris in the user's media profile. If the content is in the user's mediaprofile, the user's viewing progress is updated at step 2008. The user'sprogress within a season or progress within an episode may be updated.The user may then be given the opportunity to access a programcommunity. At decision 2010, the interactive media monitoringapplication may determine if a request has been made to join a programcommunity. If the interactive media monitoring application determinesthat a request has been made to join a program community, theinteractive media monitoring application may locate or create acommunity forum associated with the user's media profile at step 2012.For example, in one embodiment the Internet is accessed to locate asuitable chat room. At step 2014, the interactive media monitoringapplication may access the forum located or created at step 2012. If theuser is the first member of the community forum, a new community forummay be created. Otherwise, the current user is added to the forummembership list. If the user does not wish to join a program communityor after the interactive media monitoring application has accessed thecommunity forum at step 2014, the illustrative process stops at step2014.

In practice, one or more steps shown in process 2000 may be combinedwith other steps, performed in any suitable order, performed inparallel—e.g., simultaneously or substantially simultaneously—ordeleted. For example, if the user equipment is not Internet ornetwork-enabled, decision 2010 and step 2012 of accessing a programcommunity may be eliminated.

One skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention can bepracticed by other than the prescribed embodiments, which are presentedfor purposes of illustration and not of limitation, and the invention islimited only by the claims which follow.

1-57. (canceled)
 58. A method for presenting media content based on auser's viewing progress within serial programs on user equipment, themethod comprising: creating, using control circuitry, a media profilecomprising a first viewing progress within a first serial program and asecond viewing progress within a second serial program; storing themedia profile in a storage device; determining, using the controlcircuitry, a first progress point in the first serial program based onthe first viewing progress and a second progress point in the secondserial program based on the second viewing progress; generating fordisplay, on a display screen, a first object corresponding to the firstprogress point in the first serial program adjacent to a second objectcorresponding to the second progress point in the second serial program;generating for display, on a display screen, a first user-selectableobject corresponding to the first serial program and a seconduser-selectable object corresponding to the second serial program,wherein selecting the first user-selectable object causes a first optionfor generating for display the first serial program at the firstprogress point to be displayed; receiving a user selection of the firstuser-selectable object; in response to receiving the user selection ofthe first user-selectable object, generating for display the firstoption; receiving a user selection of the first option; and in responseto receiving the user selection of the first option, generating fordisplay the first serial program at the first progress point.
 59. Themethod of claim 58, wherein selecting the first user-selectable objectcauses a second option for generating for display the first serialprogram at the beginning of an episode.
 60. The method of claim 58,wherein determining the current episode in the serial programming thatcorresponds to the reviewing progress comprises analyzing metadataassociated with the serial programming.
 61. The method of claim 60,wherein the metadata associated with the serial programming indicates anepisode that should be presented to the user before or after the currentepisode.
 62. The method of claim 58, further comprising updating theviewing progress in the user profile to indicate the current episode hasbeen viewed.
 63. The method of claim 58, wherein generating for displaythe viewing option to the user comprises presenting a menu to the userincluding the viewing option.
 64. The method of claim 63, wherein themenu further includes a summary of the subsequent episode.
 65. Themethod of claim 63, wherein the menu further includes a title of thesubsequent episode.
 66. The method of claim 64, wherein the menu is ofrecently watched programs.
 67. The method of claim 62, furthercomprising selecting an advertisement to deliver to the user based onthe updated user profile.
 68. A system for presenting media contentbased on a user's viewing progress within serial programs on userequipment, the system comprising: a storage device; and controlcircuitry configured to: create a media profile comprising a firstviewing progress within a first serial program and a second viewingprogress within a second serial program; store the media profile in thestorage device; determine a first progress point in the first serialprogram based on the first viewing progress and a second progress pointin the second serial program based on the second viewing progress;generate for display, on a display screen, a first object correspondingto the first progress point in the first serial program adjacent to asecond object corresponding to the second progress point in the secondserial program; generate for display, on a display screen, a firstuser-selectable object corresponding to the first serial program and asecond user-selectable object corresponding to the second serialprogram, wherein selecting the first user-selectable object causes afirst option for generating for display the first serial program at thefirst progress point to be displayed; receive a user selection of thefirst user-selectable object; in response to receiving the userselection of the first user-selectable object, generate for display thefirst option; receive a user selection of the first option; and inresponse to receiving the user selection of the first option, generatefor display the first serial program at the first progress point. 69.The system of claim 68, wherein selecting the first user-selectableobject causes a second option for generating for display the firstserial program at the beginning of an episode.
 70. The system of claim68, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to determine thecurrent episode in the serial programming that corresponds to thereviewing progress by analyzing metadata associated with the serialprogramming.
 71. The system of claim 70, wherein the metadata associatedwith the serial programming indicates an episode that should bepresented to the user before or after the current episode.
 72. Thesystem of claim 68, wherein the control circuitry is further configuredto update the viewing progress in the user profile to indicate thecurrent episode has been viewed.
 73. The system of claim 68, wherein thecontrol circuitry is further configured to generate for display theviewing option to the user by presenting a menu to the user includingthe viewing option.
 74. The system of claim 73, wherein the menu furtherincludes a summary of the subsequent episode.
 75. The system of claim73, wherein the menu further includes a title of the subsequent episode.76. The system of claim 74, wherein the menu is of recently watchedprograms.
 77. The system of claim 72, wherein the control circuitry isfurther configured to select an advertisement to deliver to the userbased on the updated user profile.